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David Biedenbender - "All We Are Given We Cannot Hold" album review

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 David Biedenbender - All We Are Given We Cannot Hold  album It has taken these weighing emotions and transformed them into pure beauty in the form of art song. With his first monographic album, David Biedenbender continues to prove himself as an chamber music composer while showcasing his delicate text setting ability. Distributed by Blue Griffin Recording , All We Are Given We Cannot Hold  juxtaposes two works for voice and ensemble using text by poet  Robert Fanning  with two older instrumental pieces featuring the Garth Newel Piano Quartet . Overall, album takes the listener on an emotional journey, rapidly swinging between parental worries and pondering natural monolithic beauty. Shell and Wing , a two-part work for soprano and ensemble, establishes a sense of unease from the first fluttering note. Setting newly-written text by Fanning, both the music and poetry contemplate parents' personal fears when sending their children out into the modern world of violence. Composed in